


Not a Bother

by nekobazu



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Sickfic, illness/comfort, request, sugawara's far too sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-19 16:03:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2394485
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekobazu/pseuds/nekobazu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Hinata falls ill, he refuses to admit it, then refuses all offers of help. Ultimately, though, a kind heart's perseverance ensures there's someone there to care for him when he needs it.</p>
<p>"It's not a bother at all, okay? <em>You're</em> not a bother."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not a Bother

**Author's Note:**

> I was requested to write "sickfic, featuring sick Hinata and perfect friend Suga," and this is the end result. I can only hope it lives up to expectations!

"Ah!"

Sugawara winced as, for the fifth time in the last seven attempts, Hinata missed a spike.

"What the _hell_ is wrong with you today?!"

And there came Kageyama's unique brand of encouragement.

"Sh... shut up, dumbass..."

The setter's abuse had been meant to light a fire under Hinata, to irritate him and stir him up, to get the loud and energetic personality back, but his response - so feeble and lifeless, without any force behind it - was so far from his usual character that even Kageyama looked concerned.

'Rightly so,' Sugawara mused with a frown. They had both noticed early on that Hinata wasn't right - he was breathing harder, sweating more heavily, moving more lethargically - but from that response he was clearly suffering something beyond tiredness. Even when Kageyama had adjusted his tosses to suit the Hinata before him, as in-sync with the boy as he ever was on the court, the redhead still whiffed at more than he hit.

"Hinata!" Sugawara called, walking across to the boy as he got his attention before speaking in a lower voice. "Do you want to sit practice out today? If you're not feeling good, you'd be better off taking a break."

The boy blinked slowly at Sugawara, as though taking a moment to process his words, then forced a wide smile - though it was a pale imitation of what Tanaka had dubbed the 'sunshine smile' that Hinata usually gave. "I'm fine!" he insisted, making placating gestures with his hands. "I'm just a bit out of touch, that's all - I'll find it again soon."

"Hinata," Sugawara insisted, putting a hand on his team mate's shoulder. "I know you want to train, but-"

The silver-haired setter cut himself off as he felt the heat radiating from his friend, eyes widening a little in alarm. "You're burning up!" he exclaimed, bringing his other hand to Hinata's forehead and tutting in concern. "You should be resting!"

"I'm fine, really!" the youth protested, ducking away from Sugawara's touch. His body betrayed him, though, and he staggered a little as his weight shifted.

_"Hinata!"_

All three boys flinched as Daichi's voice boomed across the court, loud and authoritative. "Sugawara's right - you shouldn't be practicing. Go home and rest!"

"But-"

"If you disobey," Daichi warned, glowering, "Then you can expect to be benched for the next three matches."

It looked for a moment as though Hinata would argue in spite of everything, but a gentle hand placed between his shoulder blades somehow drew the fight out of him. "It's for your own good," Sugawara insisted, rubbing small circles on Hinata's back. "You need to look after yourself, or you'll end up even worse."

"But..."

Hinata tried to protest, but there was little conviction to it, and Sugawara began to gently steer him toward the door. "Get changed and get your things, okay? We'll see about getting you home."

Finally, Hinata acquiesced, giving a small nod before shuffling dejectedly off to the changing room. Satisfied that the boy would do as he was told, Sugawara turned back to the others with a look of concern on his face. "Someone else should go as well, and make sure there's someone home to look after him."

"I agree," Daichi murmured, before turning to the taller of the two setters. "Kageyama, would you take care of that for us?"

"I..."

Kageyama grimaced, glancing down and scowling at the volleyball he held in his hands as though it were somehow to blame. "I... don't know how to," he admitted. "He needs someone who can look after him if there's no-one there, and I'd..."

Kageyama forced his admission out through gritted teeth, his voice betraying the disappointment he felt at himself for not being able to help his closest friend. "I'd be useless."

"I'll go, then," Sugawara volunteered, before addressing the obviously uncomfortable youth stood next to him. "You could visit him after school tomorrow if he doesn't come in?"

"I'll be trusting you to make sure he doesn't train tomorrow either, if he does come in," Daichi added, clapping Kageyama on the shoulder firmly. "Even if he feels better, rest is still important."

His agitation soothed somewhat by being given these responsibilities, Kageyama nodded firmly. "Right!"

* * *

"Hinata!"

The redhead jumped guiltily as Sugawara called him, his bike clattering to the ground as he fumbled it.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Uh..."

Hinata looked down at the fallen bike, before lifting his head to face his senior, not quite daring to make eye contact. "...home?"

"On your bike?"

"Uh..."

"Thirty minutes through the mountains? When you've just been told to go home and rest?"

"But I can rest once I-!"

"Hinata," Sugawara interrupted gently. "What if you have an accident or strain yourself on the way back?" As the boy lowered his head guiltily again, Sugawara pressed, "Leave your bike here tonight - Takeda-sensei already said he'll give us a lift."

Hinata tried to protest, but then that hand was rubbing his back gently and once more he felt the fight drain out of him. He really had to find out exactly how Sugawara did that.

"...okay," he conceded tiredly, picking his bike back up and wheeling it back across to the bike sheds.

* * *

 “You're sure you don't want me to wait?”

“Thank you, but it's fine,” Sugawara insisted, bowing in gratitude to Takeda, who still sat in his car. “I can get the bus home from here, so you don't need to hang around for me. Besides which, it doesn't look like anyone's home, so I'll be staying a while to look after Hinata.”

The red-head started at Sugawara's comment. He had planned to tell Sugawara his mother was home and therefore let him leave in good time, but it seemed the older boy was sharper and more determined than that.

“It's okay, Sugawara, really – I can look after-”

“Hinata.”

Sugawara's smile was wide and cheerful, but somehow it still felt like there was a threat looming behind it. “It's no problem, really – it'll only be until someone comes home, right?”

Takeda smiled at the boy's insistence. “You're far too good to your kouhai, you know that?”

“Maybe,” Sugawara answered with a thoughtful purse of the lips. “Perhaps I should give Hinata extra drills when he's recovered, to make up for lost time?”

The teacher's smile widened, and he gave both boys a small wave. “Well, I'll be seeing you at school. Take care!”

Once Takeda's car was out of sight, Sugawara turned to his younger team mate. “Shall we go in?”

* * *

Ten minutes later, Hinata found himself changed into shorts and a t-shirt and tucked up in bed, his temperature already taken (confirming Sugawara's initial assertion that the boy was burning up) and a glass of water on his bedside table, accompanied by the vice-captain's warning that he should drink plenty of it, but only in sips.

“You really don't have to do this,” Hinata insisted, though his voice was softer and quieter than usual, betraying conflicting guilt and gratitude at the care he was receiving. “I can just sleep it off, and mum'll be home later.”

“All the same,” Sugawara stated, walking across the room to crack Hinata's window open and let some air in. “I'm more comfortable knowing someone's here in case you need anything.”

Hinata huffed at his elder's stubbornness, but the setter noted the lack of vehemence in it. The boy was either coming round to the idea of being cared for, or too drained to put up any serious resistance.

“Have you got any medicine?” the vice-captain enquired, lingering by the foot of Hinata's bed.

The redhead shook his head a little. “Natsu was sick last week, and mum used the last of it on her. That's probably where I caught it from,” he added distantly.

Sugawara nodded at this, then fished his phone out of his pocket. “I'm just going to go downstairs to call my parents, then I'll be back up, okay?”

Blinking slowly, the boy bobbed his head slightly in acknowledgement of the setter's statement, and watched as he left the room. Now that he'd stopped moving and wasn't full of adrenaline, Hinata was beginning to realise just how much he ached, and how tired his body felt, and even a small motion like nodding felt strenuous. It occurred to him that he was lucky Sugawara had made sure he didn't ride home – there was no way he'd have made it in this state, and who could tell what would happen once he collapsed by the road?

Hinata could catch snatches of Sugawara's voice drifting in through his part-open door – “...home later... sick kouhai... no-one here... an hour?... I'll reheat...” – and the soft tones were somehow comforting. Just the presence of someone being nearby was comforting, in fact. It had been a long time since Hinata had gotten sick, and he'd forgotten how bad and how lonely it really made you feel.

He really owed Sugawara for this, he decided. And Kageyama and Daichi too, for backing the setter up. Maybe he could buy them some chocolate to show his gratitude or something.

When the silver-haired youth returned, he had a cool, damp cloth in his hand, and he set it gently on Hinata's forehead as he settled on the edge of the bed, making sure to give the boy plenty of room. “How's that?” he enquired, a small smile on his face as he looked down at the boy.

“Mmm... 's nice...” the redhead murmured in reply, sighing at the relief the cloth gave him.

“Good,” the vice-captain answered, his smile widening a little as Hinata visibly relaxed.

“Sorry for being a bother...”

“Hinata...”

Sugawara leaned forward, brushing the boy's tousled hair away from his face before gently cupping his cheek, the contact only light so as not to cause any discomfort. “It's not a bother at all, okay? _You're_ not a bother. You're one of my precious kouhai, and if I have to wait by your side for another three hours until someone comes home, I'll be happy to do it if it means I know you're okay. “

Hinata shuffled and squirmed a little at that, torn between embarrassment and contentment. It wasn't like he didn't already know that the third years cared about the rest of the team, but this was just... _different_ somehow. There was something about Sugawara's words that convinced Hinata that he wasn't just saying it – that he was truly happy to be there looking after him. It might have been the fever talking, but being cared for like this was...

It was just _nice._

The redhead's musing was interrupted as Sugawara reached for the cloth, gently dabbing down his cheeks and eliciting little sighs as Hinata felt his skin cooling under each gentle touch.

“Feeling better?”

The smaller boy nodded at this, sighing happily again as the cloth was placed back on his forehead. Who know a bit of damp fabric could feel so good?

“Good.”

The redhead didn't even need to look at Sugawara to know he was smiling. He could even picture exactly which smile he wore – it was that gentle, affectionate smile he reserved for particularly fond moments; a small quirk of the corners of his mouth, but a brilliant sparkle in his eyes, a smile that only those closest to the boy would ever be graced with, and perhaps the most beautiful smile he had.

“I'm just going to go downstairs to leave a note for your mum, okay? So that I won't startle her when she comes home.”

“Okay...”

“I'll be right back, okay?”

“Okay...”

Even those words were comforting – knowing that Sugawara wouldn't be going far, or gone for long; that the angel that watched over him and soothed him would stay by his side a little longer.

“Sugawara-san...?”

The setter hesitated, before perching on the edge of Hinata's bed again. “Yeah?”

With an effort, Hinata freed an arm from under his sheets, and reaching out, he groped blindly a moment before setting his hand on Sugawara's leg. Opening his eyes a little, he gave his senior a watery smile. “Thank you...”

Sugawara laid a hand on top of Hinata's and gave it a comforting squeeze. “You're more than welcome.”

The silver-haired youth leaned forward and, with barely a moment's hesitation, pressed a gentle kiss to Hinata's temple. There was nothing improper about it; it was a kiss that brought only peace and contentment and warmth, the kiss of a friend, rather than that of a lover. Despite that, Hinata was sure he blushed a little, but there was no sense of discomfort to it – it was almost flattery; a sense of disbelief that someone could care so much, so simply and so easily for him.

“Now get some rest, and I'll be right back, okay?”

“Okay...”

By the time Sugawara returned, the smaller boy had fallen to sleep.

 


End file.
